Schuman’s lessons for today’s Europe

Abstract

What can Robert Schuman still teach us in a fragmented, multicultural and geopolitically uncertain Europe? This book revisits the philosophical and anthropological foundations of European integration to recover a concept often overlooked: community. For Schuman, European integration was a moral and political project oriented towards the common good, rooted in solidarity, responsibility and dialogue. Drawing on her doctoral research, the author compares three contemporary initiatives in intercultural dialogue to assess how personal encounters can generate trust, awareness and civic engagement beyond national borders. Combining philosophy, political science and sociology with empirical research, she proposes a generative model of Europeanisation grounded in intercultural dialogue. At a time of polarisation and uncertainty, this book offers both a renewed reading of Schuman’s vision and a practical pathway for building transnational communities in the 21st century.